Orange Glow
by SMKLegacy
Summary: Grissom and Sara plot Catherine’s downfall, monetarily speaking. Response to the September 12, 05 Unbound Improv Challenge and sequel to “White Lies”.


**Orange Glow**

TEASER: Grissom and Sara plot Catherine's downfall, monetarily speaking. Response to the 9-12-05 Unbound Improv Challenge and sequel to "White Lies".

RATING: M for sexual content.

SPOILERS: Through Season 5.

DISCLAIMERS: Not mine. No matter how hard I wish or pray, they never will be. So I'm just playing with them for fun without profit. All of that goes to Bruckheimer, et al.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: You'll get more from this story if you read "Red Hot", "Blue Blazes", "Green Monster", and "White Lies" first. "Green Day, Black Night" is _not_ part of this series. Reviews appreciated, archived at my site, and the RED SOX were still in first place when I started writing this but have slipped a half game down as of tonight. UGH. First and last lines given, 1000 word limit for the story itself; according to MS Word 2003, I made it with 41 words to spare.

**CSI CSI CSI**

**"What is true happiness?"** Greg sipped at his coffee waiting for any one of Nick, Warrick, or Catherine to answer.

Catherine frowned. "For Sara, it's going off to Oregon to see her new mystery lover for the weekend. And apparently, for Grissom, it's staying in with his mystery lover here."

"And for Catherine, it would be winning the five thousand dollars in the pot for Grissom and Sara's wedding, which I'm telling you, isn't happening." Warrick rinsed out his mug and set it in the dish drainer to dry.

Nick nodded. "You know, as much as it pains me to say it, I think Warrick's right. They're both totally besotted with these mystery lovers. And they're even working together without rancor. Maybe it's just time to let it be."

"_Et tu, Nike?_"

Nick scowled. "Nike, Catherine?"

"Okay, I admit it was lame. Have you really given up on them?"

He nodded and pressed his palms together at chest level. "If they are happy and content, I'm not messing with it."

Greg help up his hand before Catherine could speak. "I'm just glad there's a cease fire. With any luck, it will be a complete peace settlement soon. Besides, if I can't have her, then at least she should be with someone who makes her happy."

Catherine shook her head in disgust. "I don't believe it. You're all growing up on me. Damn." She pushed herself up from the table and stomped out with a gruff, "Tomorrow" echoing in her wake.

Warrick watched her go and sat down with a sigh. "I could have told her the end results of gambling such a large amount."

Grissom stuck his head into the break room. "Who's been gambling?"

Nick chuckled. "Catherine."

"Really?" Grissom's eyebrows went up. "On what?"

The three younger men looked at each other, wondering who would have the courage to admit to Grissom that the entire office had placed bets on his marriage to Sara. Assuming Sara hadn't told him first in a fit of platonic camaraderie, of course.

Greg broke the heavy silence.

Grissom chortled as Greg talked, at one point wiping the tears from his eyes. "Priceless. Absolutely priceless. Thank you, gentlemen, you have made my night."

He walked out, still laughing harder than any of them had ever heard him laugh.

**CSI CSI CSI**

"This is brilliant, Gris." Sara hooked her arm through his as they strolled up the path toward the lodge in Colorado Springs. "Your car at your house, my car at the airport, your home phone forwarded to your cell, my cell off . . ."

"Alone again at last."

"Gris, we were just on vacation three weeks ago."

He leaned over to nuzzle her hair. "Two weeks and six days too long ago. We should get away once a month." He waved his free arm over their heads. "Look at this glorious sunset. Have you ever seen a more stunning orange glow in the sky?"

"No." She turned her head to kiss him.

Long minutes later, he sat them down on a boulder to watch the sun drop behind a mountain peak. "Beautiful."

She sighed and leaned into him. "Yes, it is."

He chuckled. "Now that you mention it, I suppose the sunset is pretty spectacular, though I was referring to the company."

"Flatterer."

"Would you prefer to be flattered with a marriage proposal?"

She turned in his arms, her jaw dropped nearly to the ground. "A m-m-marriage pro-proposal?"

He smiled at her. "Yes. Sara, will you marry me?"

"Oh, my God, yes, Grissom!" She pushed him to the ground and kissed him utterly senseless.

Later that night, after they had decided on the design of their engagement and wedding ring set, they made love until the thunderheads growing in the west glowed orange in the first rays of the sun rising in the east.

"So, before we fall sleep, can I tell you about the office pool?" he asked.

Her voice slurred with exhaustion of the best kind. "When did you find out?"

"Oh, I've known about it for years, but Greg finally broke down and told me about it officially. Catherine has money on every single Saturday and Sunday of the year."

Sara giggled. "So I guess we won't be getting married on a weekend."

Grissom pulled her body closer to him and said into her ear, "Not a chance. And won't you just love the colors on Catherine's face when she finds out?"

"Every color of the rainbow, no doubt. God, she won't know what to be more pissed about, that we've been hoodwinking her all this time or that she's lost so much money."

"We can enjoy it twice if we announce we're engaged and then wait a few days before we announce the wedding date."

Sara rolled over in his arms. "We don't have to set a date for a while. Someone will win even if we wait until next year."

"That's true." He kissed her nose. "However, I don't want to wait that long. If that slave-driving supervisor of yours will give you two weeks off around Christmas and New Years, I'm pretty sure we're getting married on December 21."

Her giggles became squeals. "Really?" Then she squinted at him. "How do you know that?"

He laughed. "Because I happen to know who claimed the next to the last Wednesday of the year in the pool, and I think $5,000 will go a long way toward a very nice honeymoon."

She kissed him for as long as she could without breathing, ignoring the staccato tapping of tree branches on the window in the quickening breeze. The happily engaged couple fell asleep, content as neither had ever believed possible,** as one by one the leaves fell delicately from the tree.**

**--FIN--**


End file.
